beautiful wife in court with him. >> jesse: set your dvrs. never miss an episode of the "special report" " "the five." "special report" is up next. >> bret: president trump says no decisions have been made yet on who stays or who goes in his administration. plus secretaries of defense and homeland security toward the border to meet with troops. this is "special report" ." good evening and welcome to washington, i'm bret baier. apologize for the froggy throat. the stakes are enormous tonight as we await final word of who won senate and governor 's races in the kia key electoral battleground of florida. one more vital pickup for the slim g.o.p. senate majority. this to be the final

full day of vote recounting in those contests, and there is still a lot of action away from the ballot boxes in various florida courtrooms. corresponded doug mckelway staying on top of all of it from the state capital of tallahassee tonight. good evening, doug. >> good evening, bret. 44 of 67 counties had completed their machine recount. of the 23 remaining counties, only one of them, palm beach county is not expected to meet the deadline. governor rick scott trying to make himself comfortable in the city he hopes to call home. >> do you still contend with is fraud going on in this recount? >> unspoken awkwardness in this photo op of -- it may have to be photoshoped if the florida recount does not go rick scott's way. scott has -- around the clock shifts. in palm beach, machines have

overheated. at 10:30 a.m., county reports about 50%-60% complete with its recount process. supervisor brenda snipes promised to meet the 3:00 p.m. deadline and the hand recount that will surely follow. >> a couple 100 people, tables, space, space for the canvassing board to work, we need folks representing the candidates, we'll have to identify the votes that seem to be valid and not valid. >> seven recount lawsuits have been filed in tallahassee alone. the local newspaper noting that all of them are landing on the desk of chief judge mark wahlberg who has stringently colorful world worded opinions. senator nelson argued for a more lenient interpretation of signature matching on mail in ballots. one government witness certified that more than 100 ballots have been set asignature problems.

the florida democratic party continued its attack on g.o.p. accusation of democrat voter fraud. >> they are spreading false and inflammatory rivers of voter fraud. nothing could be further from the truth. >> that while secretary of >> i am, of course, will not go into any details about the criminal investigation, but i felt very strongly that we had to get the florida county of law enforcement involved in this. >> florida prosecutors investigate the so-called cure affidavits used to fix mismatched signatures on mail-in ballots. the four, sent by democratic party volunteers, have a wrong due date: november 8th, to go days after the election two days after the election. the deadline to finish the hand recount is sunday but that is up in the air because of pending democratic lawsuits that any deadline is irrelevant given the fact that neither the

governor nor the senator is scheduled to be sworn in until january. more time, republicans fear, for more irregularities to surface. >> bret: doug mckelway live in tallahassee. hundreds of central american migrants traveling to mexico have reached tijuana. thousands more are still heading to the u.s.-mexico border. today, the president defends cheap and homeland security secretary paid a visit to some of the troops that have been ordered to that region. jennifer griffin joined us in the pentagon. >> defense secretary mattis traveled with kirstjen nielsen despite persistent rumors plans to fire his homeland security chief. he says the number of troops at the border could go as high as 7,000 but does not anticipate military personnel coming into direct contact with migrants. >> there's all sorts of stuff in the news and that sort of thing. you can't separate what your

commander, call back tells you if you read all that stuff, you'll go nuts. you know what i mean? >> the pentagon will not say how much this deployment costs. early estimates point to a $200 million bill which some worry will be less money to fix planes and maintain equipment. unlike a deployment overseas, these troops are not getting combat pay. they are living in tents and eating prepackaged mrds, even though fast food and grocery stores are nearby. at first, the name of the mission of was made very publi, operation -- the top brass drop that name. >> i have given instructions. i did not want to put this mission in some arcane military terms. if what we are doing is in wire, don't talk about implementing a barrier plan.

>> the president mentioned the caravan many times ahead of the midterm elections but has not mentioned it much since. >> you can't call it anything but a study here. it's unfortunate to us. if they are going to be away from family during the holidays coming up and we don't know what really for. >> five of the 39 military units deployed to the border are public affairs units, subjecting the pentagon those this is more about messaging than reinforcing the border. >> bret: jennifer, thanks. we are in a pause of the political game of musical chairs at the top echelons of the trump administration. but the president is doing nothing to quell speculation and a few more chairs may be pulled long. ponders as his feud with one cable news outlet will be successful, and changes his mind about new prison reform

legislation. chief correspondent john roberts has all of that tonight on the front lawn. >> what we call it around here, bret, is wednesday. prison reform has long attracted bipartisan support but president trump took a step further back and not just prison reform but the sentencing that puts people behind bars in the first place. after months of balkan, president trump today through his support behind a compromise bill to reform how criminals are penalized. >> the bill includes reasonable sensing reforms while keeping dangerous and violent criminals off our street. >> among other things, the first step act would shorten mandatory minimum sentences for drug sentences, change the three strikes you're out from life to prison to 25 years. these tagging regulation that makes it a federal crime to possess a firearm while another crime, to end the disparity between crack and powdered

cocain his former attorney general wanted no part of it. >> there are still those we would like to believe to be release -- that would be in my opinion bad for the rule of law. it would be bad for public safety. >> but after several law enforcement groups back to the new measure, the president felt it safe to jump on board. >> in many respects, we are getting very much tougher on these truly bad criminals which, unfortunately, there are many. but we are treating people differently for different crimes. >> one of the big question looming over the white house today, which staff members will be thrown overboard? in an interview with "the daily caller" today, president trump said he'd make a decision student on his secretary of dh s kirstjen

nielsen for the president did say, no decisions have been made. the white house today responded to a lawsuit filed by cnn yesterday seeking to reinstate the press pass of corresponded jim acosta. in a court filing -- the president and white house possess the same broad discretion to regulate access to the white house for journalists and other members of the public that they possess to select which generalist to receive interviews or which journalist they acknowledge at press conferences. a friend of the court brief to be filed soon, fox news joined the cnn case. news president jay wallace saying, while we do not condone the growing antagonistic tone at recent media avails, we support a free press, access, open exchanges for the american people. in the interview with "the daily caller" today, president trump said he didn't know whether the white house will prevail in the lawsuit, but

said that is it freedom of the present when somebody comes in and start screaming questions and won't sit down? >> bret: john roberts live on the north lawn. john, thanks. this is a fox news alert. the lawyer for the adult film actress who says she has a relationship, sexual relationship with donald trump, has been arrested on a domestic assault charge. michael avenatti was arrested today after his estranged wife filed a felony domestic violence report. tmz is reporting that her face was swollen and bruised. the ap citing a law enforcement official with the l.a.p.d. saying that avenatti is in police custody at this hour following domestic violence allegations. we will continue to follow that story. the justice department says president trump did not break the law when he bypassed the deputy attorney general and appointed someone else to the top job following the firing of

jeff sessions. despite several other legal experts disagreeing when it comes to the appointment of matt whitaker. she pins halogens corresponded catherine herridge on how it's being received. >> the legal opinion facts president trump's appointment of acting attorney general matt whitaker, the office of legal counsel found that senate root confirmation is not required if the appointment is temporary. the appointment of mr. whitaker mr. whitaker's -- countless examples of practice. the acting attorney general's job falls to attorney general rod rosenstein, who oversaw the robert mueller probe. the office of legal the vacancies reform act as an alternative, which was recognized and used by presidents bush and obama. >> we want to make sure that the

acting attorney general does not interfere with the mueller investigation and we were believe all republican >> he's never cited he wants to shut it down. i've never heard anyone down there say they want to shut it down. >> before the midterms, rosenstein was under allegations that he was secretly recording the president in may 2017 and removing him from office. the republican house chairman says they still want rosenstein under oath for a transcribed interview before the democrats take over. >> we are working very hard right now as we speak getting that done. >> you are working with the justice department? >> we are working with a number of people. >> outgoing republican senator jeff flake says he'll oppose the president's judicial nominees, the senator's threat obligates republican efforts to move the nominees forward by the end of the year, bret. >> bret: the u.s. postal service lost almost $4 billion in the fiscal year, ending in

september. the red incomes despite a rise in package deliveries. a head of a review ordered by the president who contends the service is losing a fortune because it's not charging higher shipping prices to online retailers such as amazon. stocks were down today. the dow lost 206, the s&p 500 fell 21, the nasdaq chopsticks dropped 64.5. this is another fox news alert. the desperate search for survivors goes on today. six more deaths have pushed the vitality count to near 50 50. scores more are still missing. will get the latest from correspondent claudia cowan tonight. good evening, claudia. >> good evening to you, bret. the question is how many more victims will be found as more

help comes in from the highest levels of government. >> this is one of the worst disasters i've ever seen in my career. >> it's hard to describe words until you visit and visit with the victim and see the smaller communities become a charred amnesia of what they once were. >> as they surveyed the destruction, paradise residents are coming to terms with her new reality. >> it's very disheartening to know. >> went from my house to living in a tent. >> these aerial pictures show the handful of 800 homes destroyed in the camp fire. while it is 35% contained, thousands of other homes remain under threat. >> many people had harrowing experiences as they evacuated. most people are just grateful. there's a lot of questions about the road ahead. it's pretty uncertain right now about how to proceed for most people. >> this walmart parking lot has

turned into a tent city. >> we are from paradise and we saw a picture of our house. it isn't there. the only thing that i think didn't -- speak of the death toll stands at 48. one official told fox news that he's sure that will rise as more people remained mixing. angry homeowners say the state's dominant utility is to blame. they filed a lawsuit saying that pacific gas and transmission line failed sparking the fire. the transmission across california, more than 9,000 firefighters are battling flames in three major wildfires that have ready burned hundred 37 acres, flareups like this one overnight in san bernardino san bernardino county completely contained, but offers ample evidence of the dangers that remain. >> we are going to have more

difficulties. they aren't going to get better. they are going to get more challenging. >> secretary zinke says he hopes the fire will lead to changes in forest management policies. he says this kind of loss and devastation is not acceptable. bret? >> bret: claudia, thanks. up next, is the latest cease-fire between israel and the palestinians a surrender to terrorism? one very important israeli politicians has it is so he's quitting. box 13 in memphis where two are dead and dozens injured in a tour bus accident. it happened this afternoon in an icy road in mississippi there were more than 40 people on board. fox 9 in the twin cities as st. paul city council vote on raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. if it passes, mayor melvin carter is expected to sign it.

many restaurant owners are unhappy with the current plan requiring an increase in base pay even with employees who make tips. this is live look at dallas from our affiliate fox 4. one of the big stories there, the national transportation safety board questioning inspections from boeing on a fatal accident on a southwest airlines jet, the fan blade broke killing a woman who was blown partly out of a broken window. pilots landed that crippled plane safely in philadelphia. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway for "special report." we'll be right back. ou need. mind if i root through your trash? new robitussin honey. because it's never just a cough. that skills like teamwork, attention to detail, and customer service are critical to business success.

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>> bret: british prime minister theresa may said her committee has drafted a brexit deal with the european union after an impassioned debate. we told you last night that britain and the e.u. have reached an agreement on the major sticking point in the toss, what to do about ireland. tomorrow we'll have a report about the details and the implications in both. there is a political crisis in israel tonight. defense minister is putting over a cease-fire with the palestinians. he sees it as capitulation to

terrorists. the move puts the current government in peril. from israel's border with gaza. >> political turmoil in israel today after a controversial cease-fire with hamas is widely condemned. in the streets of southern israel, people have been furiou furious. the people here in a town about a mile from the border are angry and they are angry at the israeli government. they are calling on benjamin netanyahu to be firmer with hamas. they want to see this threat wiped out. for years, they've seen rockets coming across into their town and they feel the cease-fire doesn't go far enough to protect them. in alexander lieberman suddenly resigned, said he could no longer serve a government that gave into the terrorist group. >> the long term group with hamas is a surrender to terror.

>> a majority of just 61 of 120 seats and now lieberman has called for new elections which could happen as --dash follow the heaviest exchange of fire since 2014 since hamas fired 450 rockets into israel and israel responded with 150 into gaza. hamas are claiming a major political win. >> this is a victory for the palestinian resistance and >> netanyahu is -- while corruption allegations continue to dog him. netanyahu will now take over as acting defense minister. he's also more foreign minister and health minister as well as prime minister. polls suggest it would still take a lot to beat this resilient leader. bret? >> bret: benjamin hall in

jerusalem. up next, who's who in the next congress? in our outside our borders tonight, officials in yemen say the air strike targeted a data collection has made no comment as of yet. ukraine's prime minister accusing local officials are causing a crisis that has left hundreds and thousands without heat in the freezing weather. several towns and neighborhoods in two big cities in ukraine are in the cold after a price hike of a national gas company left some struggling and it is a polity is unable to pay. civil servants in greece walk off the job today in a 24-hour strike to protest austerity measures there. they are demanding wage and pension increases. more than a thousand protesters marched through central athens in two separate demonstrations today. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be rightif back.

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>> bret: there will be few changes in the leadership change following a modest republican addition to its majority in the midterms. there is more drama in the house as democrats replace republicans in control. chief correspondent mike emanuel rings us up to date from capitol hill. >> the newly elected republican leader issued a warning to the

democratic majority. >> if their agenda is simply investigation, impeachment, and not a focus on the hardworking american public, we'll be there to defend the american public. >> mccarthy easily defeated ohio congressman jim jordan 159 159-43. wyoming's liz cheney will be a third as conference chair, a job her father, former vice president dick cheney, held. >> my father has a real love of this institution. it's a love i share. >> newly elected members posed for a class photo in front of the capital while going through orientation and trying to learn the routine and congress. this is democratic leader nancy pelosi trying to round up the support to be speaker. >> let's find our common ground as to how we go forward. first let us recognize that we have achieved a great victory. speaker pelosi has had some time since house democrats will not make the selection until two

weeks of today ahead of a floor vote in january. but democrats say pelosi has a serious numbers problem since some of the newest elected campaign for change against her and senior lawmakers agree. >> i believe in change. so i'm supporting change. >> in the senate, mitch mcconnell will continue to be the majority leader. south dakota's john through moves up to the second slot as republican with, and iowa's joni ernst will serve as vice chair of the g.o.p. conference. says democrats and republicans can get things done. >> we can look at ways, now that we have divided government again, to serve the country. >> senate democrats will be served by chuck schumer again who sounds like he may have a different vision. >> way to vehicle we will be relatively focused on the issues that mattr to the people. >> in terms of the speaker's race, pelosi so far is the only declared candidate. if it turns out she does not have the votes, her critics are

hoping she'll step aside. bret? >> bret: mike, thanks. one of the big winners in last week's midterm elections, montana democrat senator jon tester, he was successful despite heavy opposition and campaigning from president trump. tonight, correspondent gillian turner looks at what tester did that many fellow democrats could not. >> you must defeat the democrats and you must defeat senator jon tester. >> president trump pulled out all the stops this election cycle to beat back in convent democratic senator jon tester in montana. the president, vice president, donald trump jr. on visiting the state during the run-up to the midterms. despite the president and the g.o.p.'s best efforts, prevailed against republican matt rosendale and will begin his third term in the u.s. senate >> they saw how political the president was making this race. >> test there is

>> a red state that president trump won in 2016. he voted against the president supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh, a move that contributed to defeat for some fellow democrats up for reelection. political strategists are scratching their heads pondering whether tester is an outlier or the crest of a new blue wave in the western u.s. democrats give tester all the credit. >> the base is more about having a personal relationship with voters where they know you. they like you as a person. >> but unlike other democrats with similar voting records were lost, like heitkamp and mccaskill, tester tapped into something else. >> he had this crosscutting brand as a reformer and a populist or a little guy against the big guy. >> g.o.p. strategist say this victory was only possible in montana. >> it's different from its neighbors like idaho and wyoming that it has this deep vein of

democratic unionism in the mining parts of the state and was able to bring those voters back to his column even though they voted for trump two years earlier. >> he himself maintains a simple approach. >> it's about telling the truth. >> both sides maintain he has a unique ability to straddle both of the political aisle. at the same time, his washington track record brings him firmly in line with the democrats here in capitol hill. bret? >> bret: thank you. the president gets back up on his call for acting attorney general. plus prison reform gets their front runner treatment. we'll get reaction from the panel when we come back. i was cured and left those doubts behind. i faced reminders of my hep c every day. but in only 8 weeks with mavyret, i was cured. even hanging with friends i worried about my hep c. but in only 8 weeks with mavyret,

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>> we want to make sure that the acting attorney general does not interfere with the mueller investigation and we believe our republican colleagues will join

us. >> no indication that the mueller investigation would not be allowed to finish and it should be allowed to finish. we know how the president feels about the mueller investigation but he's never said he wants to shut it down. i never heard anybody saying he wants to shut it down. i don't think any legislation is necessary. >> bret: and a lot of talk about matt whitaker, the acting attorney general. putting out opinion with the appointment, saying that they advised the president's designation of mr. whitaker on a temporary basis, did not transform his position into an office requiring senate confirmation, and advise he could go forward with that and be lawful. others say that is not true. for example, john yoo, well respected lawyer from the bush administration says the appointment violates because he never underwent senate advice and consent. he goes on to question, if they

challenge this, whether any action as acting attorney general will then come into question. let's bring in our panel. start there. lots to talk about tonight. tom bevan, real clear politics cofounder and president britt mollie hemingway, senior correspondent at the federalist, and charles lane, writer for "the washington post." the doj seems confident, but there's a lot of talk about whether that's accurate. >> i've done my best with the layman to sort through these various arguments, and i guess the way it looks to me, there is a choice of legal authority here that the president had to. he could have gone by one statute and one norm that says you go with the deputy in this situation. another statute that the olc and office of legal councils rely on is you don't necessarily have to. you got this temporary option of seven months. people can argue about that endlessly but it seems pretty clear about the politics of it

is that matt whitaker is a more synthetic position -- somebody he had a lot of quarrels with. that would've been the alternative position. that tipped the balance and that's why he chose matt whitaker. he is taking a risk that anything he's done anything from firing mueller or like that, anything that matt whitaker does could be challenged in court later on, including things president trump is not going to want to have struck down in court. >> bret: for example, what the fbi did in the early part of the trump campaign. >> there is a long precedent of putting people in positions like this so long as they are temporary, going all the way back to thomas jefferson. generally speaking, all three branches of government have recognized this ability to do it so long it's temporary. if it were temporary, you really would have some problems. if you want to talk about people who aren't senate confirmed, bob mueller is someone who never went through senate confirmation process and has a limitless,

financially limitless, otherwise limitless probe, . people seem to think rod rosenstein would be better to be in charge of that instead of matt whitaker. rod rosenstein had a plethora of conflicts of interest from being involved in these investigations, having signed one of the warrants to spy on the trump campaign as congress tried to investigate what's going on, and then the memo that president trump used. if you're actually worried about conflict of interest, rod rosenstein wouldn't be a good choice either. >> bret: obviously the biggest thing here is what happens with the mueller investigation. you heard senate majority leader mitch mcconnell say there is no indication that it's going to be shut down. but there are senate members like jeff flake and others, we aren't going forward with lots of things unless you fire --

>> have vied to make it again and again until there is a vote on this bipartisan floor. i've informed the majority leader i will not vote to advance the 21 judicial nominees pending on the judicial committee or vote to confirm the 32 judges awaiting confirmation on the senate floor until s-2644 is brought to the full senate for a vote. >> bret: that is the bill protecting mueller. in this lame duck session, giving flake and others a lot more power. >> right. that's valid for about another six weeks. then jeff flake is gone and the republican senate caucus is going to be a little bit more conservative and a little bit more expanded. that's an important feature. trump is going to have to at some point dominate new cabinet members, perhaps put whitaker up for confirmation in the senate, but if he goes for a cabinet

shuffle, he'll have other cabinet shovels that need confirmation the fact that he has two or votes in the senate gives a running room for his nominations. >> we are years into a widespread investigation into this collusion theory, this idea they concluded to steal the 2016 election and we have no evidence supporting that. or evidence from the fbi that they surveilled their political opponents, leaking against their political opponents, they obstructed justice, and we have no special counsel looking at those things. it's a static jeff flake would be concerned having so little that there would be more of a desire -- >> bret: sure, but you are not advocating shutting mueller down before it gets down? >> i think that something that americans have a right to know. what is the scope? what are the limits? is it actually looking into what we were promised, which is treasonous collusion with russia to steal the 2016 election? >> we shall see.

who knows. maybe in a matter of weeks. here's the president in criminal justice reform. >> working with might administration over the last two years, these members reach a bipartisan agreement. did i hear the word bipartisan? the bill includes reasonable sentencing reforms while keeping dangerous and violent criminals off our streets. i urge both lawmakers and the house and senate to work hard and said a final bill to my desk. i look very forward to signing it. >> bret: this is a big deal for supporters of this legislation, jared kushner, the president's son-in-law really pushing this effort up on capitol hill. not just prison reform but sentencing reform. >> it reminds me a little bit like the opioid legislations that they also passed before the election on a bipartisan basis. yes, it's great to see the two parties can work together, but this was the lowest common

denominator as far as sentencing reform. >> bret: it's not through yet. they still have to get the votes. >> they have to get the votes. the critics of federal justin setting wanted a lot more of reducing mandatory minimums, about the least they would settle for. jeff sessions incidentally was not enthusiastic about some of the provisions, though he supported some of the others. so, yeah, i think on balance you have to say it's likely to go through. also the president wanted to strike a different note today. he's been reported as angry and ornery and sang untoward things toward theresa may on the phone and showed a gentler, results oriented phase today. >> >> bret: signaling you are ready to sign the on -- >> i wondered why they didn't do this before the election. this is trump at his best, standing there talking about -- we are still going to be tough on crime, we support

law enforcement. this legislation is supported by law enforcement and it's also bipartisan. this might've been an asset to have ten days ago. and republicans ten days ago. especially for folks in the suburbs. >> bret: panel, thanks. up next, the return of congress, next year's leadership decisions, and breaking news. since you're heading off to school, i got you this brita. dad... i just got a zerowater. but we've always used brita. it's two stage-filter... doesn't compare to zerowater's 5-stage. this meter shows how much stuff, or dissolved solids, gets left behind. our tap water is 220.

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>> i am a "yes" vote all the way through the end, but everyone's got to make their own divisions. >> i'm supporting change. >> we are going to bring change. this is the establishment versus change. >> what's your level of confidence? >> high. >> bret: that's the drama on capitol hill, whether nancy pelosi has the votes, must expect she will to become house speaker. today, the voting on the minority side, the house minority leader kevin mccourty, 159 to jim george's 43 votes. the only addition, really, was notable was liz cheney, daughter of former vice president liz cheney elected chairwoman of the house g.o.p. caucus conference.

back with the council. chuck, you look at the democrats trying to get their head around with leadership and what happens? >> this is such an interesting dilemma, because it's a question for the democrats, do you want to reward past service or do you want to set a new tone for the future? they cannot deny that nancy pelosi did a lot to help them win the majority back this time through fund-raising, and very importantly engineering a message that would work for all of them. on the other hand, it is a fact that of the 54 new democratic members, seven -- i'm sorry, eight -- as a campaign promise, they would vote against nancy pelosi for speaker and by my count 39 dodged or wouldn't declare on that issue. and so it's obvious because of her low popularity ranking, she's also weight for the image of the future. there is a lot of new people coming into congress who have

never been there before, don't really know how the game is played. so they might be tempted to say, okay, let's throw her out. at the same time, maybe they need her to show them the ropes. >> bret: we saw alexandria ocasio-cortez take a part of the sit in, the protest in pelosi's office, which is not exactly the way you get prime committee seedings when you protest in the leader's office. >> that's why she's been affected as a -- i think people on both left and right think it would be good to get nancy out of her leadership position. i think they both might be wrong. she's a very effective person at what she does. very good at not just a fun rating but strategically thinking through how to get legislation passed. >> bret: she can crack the rep. get the votes. >> being good at fund-raising is such a thing. i'm not sure if they want to replace her with someone much younger, much more ideologically

persuasive. >> bret: in fact, president trump tweeted that. if she doesn't have the votes, republicans should vote for her too. >> republicans would love to see her in the speakership. the freshmen are going to walk the plank. there is no realtive. you cannot beat something with nothing. rightposing nancy pelosi. look, on the republican side, you've got liz cheney but you've also got joni ernst in the u.s. senate assenting to leadership. the thing about republicans is, when you're in the -- right now, the key is how big of a problem is jim jordan and the freedom caucus going to be for kevin mccarthy? can they keep their caucus together in opposition? if they can't, it could be a rough ride for them. >> bret: really what the decision is where house democrats, if they go full board investigation or try to get something done. let's turn to the breaking news. michael avenatti arrested in

los angeles for a domestic violence allegation, incapacitation of l.a.p.d. felony charge we are told. just getting details of this. thoughts on the table? >> the thoughts are "she hit me first" is not a full defense. that's not going to work for him. his 2020 aspirations i think are pretty much over at this point. >> bret: mollie? >> i'm nervous about allegations made in the middle of divorce and that's what's happening here, but this man has a track record of extremely questionable behavior. what's surprising is how many people on the left are standing with him. he's the one who jammed up the fake julie swetnick allegations. it's not the problem of help, but who stands with him. >> avenatti was never a likely winner of anything in 2020 and now he's even less likely and

not a good face to put on the democratic party in 2020. >> bret: there were some people taking them seriously, though. which is amazing. what we come back, one animal will never forget this adventur adventure. when heartburn hits... fight back fast with tums smoothies. it starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue... and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. ♪ tum tum tum tum... smoothies... only from tums

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do you accept medicare patients? i sure do! to learn more call or go online today for your free decision guide. oh, and happy birthday... or retirement... in advance. ♪ >> bret: finally, tonight, police officers are ready for anything, right? new york state police sergeant scott found a 44-year-old elephant wandering in the road sunday night. she was orphaned when she was a calf in vietnam, actually, hit during the vietnam war. she now calls at the sanctuary for animals her home, but when the electric fence was left off, she decided to take a walk. while most people would find this discovery surprising, jarring, sergeant scott played it cool. >> i figured, the last 22 years i've been here, i figured it would happen at some point, and

it did. >> bret: there you go, he was fine. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight, that is it for "special report." fair, balanced, and unafraid, "the story" hosted by martha maccallum, who may have the same voice -- >> martha: i do. thanks for the set elephant stor you. good night, bret. all right, breaking tonight, worried that the deputy national security advisor mira ricardo is out. the first lady's office office made it clear yesterday that she was on rocky ground, and we are now learning that john bolton was in asia and unaware that the acts was about to fall on his second in line, and he might, the homeland security secretary on the tour with the defense secretary, there may be an effort underway to keep her in her position, but the rumors are swirling, as they often do. sometimes it means in the movie is coming, sometimes it doesn't. the president ignoring questions today about all of